The impact of task complexity and strategic planning time on EFL learners’ accuracy and fluency in written task production

Abstract

The past twenty years has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of studies investigating different aspects and features of tasks in the second and foreign language class and their effects on learners’ oral and written task performance. Building up on a review of the studies conducted in the field of task-based language teaching a gap was revealed in the literature on the joint effects of task complexity and types of pre-task planning on L2 learners’ performance. The present study investigates the effects of strategic pre-task planning time and task complexity on a group of L2 learners’ written performance in terms of accuracy and fluency. The means of accuracy and fluency of 50 intermediate English language learners, both male and female, chosen randomly from Iran National Language Institute, Miandoab Branch were compared using T-test as the statistical means of analysis. The findings revealed a positive influence of pre-task strategic planning time in both simple and complex tasks, suggesting significant implications for syllabus and task designers, language teachers, and SLA researchers.